Amazon has launched a self-publishing platform for video creators, a move that could make money for the company and budding filmmakers in the same way YouTube has created a community of online celebrities.
Amazon Video Direct (AVD), which kicked off Tuesday, shares money with video creators through the method they choose: ads, subscriptions, rentals, or simply by the number of hours streamed to tens of millions of subscribers of Amazon Prime, its two-day shipping service.
Amazon keeps about half the revenue, or if the video is restricted to Prime, it pays a set fee of 15 cents per hour viewed in the U.S.
Several production companies made videos available Tuesday including Baby Einstein, Pro Guitar Lessons and Conde Nast.
The service allows creators to publish videos in the U.S., Great Britain, Germany, Japan and Austria.
“It’s an amazing time to be a content creator,” said Jim Freeman, VP of Amazon Video. “There are more options for distribution than ever before and with Amazon Video Direct, for the first time, there’s a self-service option for video providers to get their content into a premium streaming subscription service. We’re excited to make it even easier for content creators to find an audience, and for that audience to find great content.”
Also launching today is the AVD Stars program, which gives video creators a share of $1 million per month based on customer engagement with their title. Here’s how the program works: Amazon will distribute to creators a monthly bonus from the one million dollar monthly fund, based on the Top 100 AVD titles in Prime Video, in addition to any other revenue earned. Video creators and providers who use AVD to make their titles available in Prime Video will automatically be enrolled. The $1 million monthly fund will make its first bonus distributions based on streaming activity from June 1-30.
